Performing in the field, originally meant that the artists who walked the rivers and lakes performed on suitable occasions. The back finger encounters opportunity, and occasionally makes fun.

Editor’s note: This article comes from WeChat public account “Lens Hood” (ID: no-offense-sir) , author: Li Yin Ian.

When it comes to cross-border marketing, you have to talk about Co-branding, which dates back to 1956, when Renault and Van Cleef & Arpels launched the new model “Dauphine”. Cross-brand collaboration. Through the cooperation, Renault wants to break the inherent impression that cars are exclusively for men, in order to reach female consumers.

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Image source: Wikipedia

Brand alliance is an effective strategy to expand new customers, enhance brand awareness, shape brand image, enhance consumer loyalty, show brand values, gain market share, increase sales, save certain marketing costs, etc. It’s the marketers who find the benefits of Co-branding. With changes in consumer demand, rich products, and market segmentation, brand managers are more and more fond of the benefits brought by this approach.

There are some successful classic cases, such as the cooperation between GoPro and RedBull. RedBull uses sports marketing to use its experience and reputation to sign and sponsor outstanding athletes and extreme adventurers around the world, and to organize and sponsor such events on their own. Stunt action and other information.

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Image source: Tack10

But we can also see oneSome failed cases, such as Shell and Legos. The LEGO-Shell partnership began in the 1960s and involved Shell toys sold worldwide. LEGO has launched a series of products with Shell logos, such as Shell gas stations, vehicles, dolls, etc. Shell has used Lego to complete the cross-border and crowd influence of the scene, and from this, Lego has also enhanced the authenticity of the product experience and increased product sales. However, due to environmental issues, LEGO announced in 2014 that it had ended a 50-year relationship with Shell, and because Greenpeace protested Shell ’s exploitation of oil in the Arctic, Greenpeace stated that “every company Responsibility, be careful when choosing a partner. Lego, a toy that brings joy to children, should not be associated with destroying the environment. “

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Photograph: Uffe Weng / Greenpeace

Why are there successful Co-branding and failure cases? This requires three important questions to consider when choosing a partner. Do you have:

1. Similar consumer groups

2. Similar cultures

3. Similar values ​​

“Similar values” are often a must-have for measuring whether your partners are in sync. The GoPro and RedBull cases are successful not because the products have something in common, but because both brands have similar consumer groups (sports enthusiasts), similar cultures (sports), and similar values ​​(adventure, initiative, Challenge), so that they share unlimited marketing possibilities. When Legos chose to cooperate with the Shell brand, it was precisely because of the lack of review on the “values” of the two parties that the potential risks eventually exploded, causing huge losses to the brand.

Look at the example around us. Under the environment of economic downturn and reduced marketing costs, many brands regard Co-branding as a good medicine, whether it is to acquire new customers or activate aging brands. It is hoped that through such a marketing campaign, different problems will be solved. As far as the cooperation with the “Forbidden City IP” that has been popular in recent years, and the recent appearance of “Ramen Say x 999 Cold Spirit”, are these cross-border successes??

The author thinks that most of these cases can not be regarded as a win-win success of 1 + 1> 2. For example, when referring to the brand that cooperates with the IP of the Forbidden City, which ones do you think of now? Here, if the most successful one is the “Forbidden City Museum”, at least he activated the Forbidden City brand, affecting a large wave of young ethnic groups who did not pay much attention to the Forbidden City or the Forbidden City culture.

What about ramen and 999 cold spirits? We return to three important issues that need to be considered before brand association: similar consumer groups, similar cultures, and similar values, and these two brands do not seem to be so similar in all aspects. How many healthy consumers will Take the initiative to buy a Chinese traditional medicine packaging ramen for yourself? How many people in the cold will eat instant noodles when they are sick? For this two parties, by creating this seemingly “interesting” product, it may only be able to achieve the effect of brand exposure. And if it only reaches the exposure, it means that Co-branding has not exerted its maximum value.

Why is this judgment? From the point of view of many current brand alliances, regardless of whether such alliances have led to an increase in sales of each other, from the perspective of the brand alone, they have not really risen to “brand alliances”. Most of the collaborations remain only in “product alliances Level. For example, today Case | Lacta Mondelēz chocolate “Understanding Love “ The cooperation between ice cream and liquor is a” product combination. ”

If you want to truly achieve “brand syndication”, there are six words that must be emphasized: brand value proposition

Before doing brand co-operation and cross-border marketing, did the brand managers know what their core brand value was? This is an unshakable content that requires long-term adherence, and is the foundation of all brand strategies and marketing activities.

“What really can penetrate consumers’ minds and occupy a permanent mental resource is definitely not a point of interest for product differentiation, but a moving value; a point of interest for differentiated products will only make people temporarily like it, but I wo n’t fall in love forever. “

—— Ye Minggui

It’s likeIf a pair of lovers only sees the external differences between the other person and other people, whether it is their appearance, height, or clothing, this kind of attraction cannot last long.

For marketing, a good brand value proposition can increase conversion rates and sales. Conversely, a poor or unclear brand value proposition can stifle conversion rates and sales.

But before we can distinguish good from bad, we may have to figure out what the “brand value proposition” is. Although many people have been marketing for many years, their understanding of this may still be unclear.

Explanation of the value proposition:

1. Can explain what problems your product can solve or improve the status quo;

2, what are the special points of interest that can make your target group look forward to;

3, why your consumers buy you, not your competitors

Note that the value proposition is definitely not a slogan or a positioning. Ye Minggui mentioned a case earlier. The “Just do it” we are familiar with is the slogan of NIKE. This slogan is a copywriting based on the values ​​of NIKE, but it is not the value proposition of NIKE. It will not let consumers see it, but let consumers experience and perceive it through various marketing methods and products. This is the spirit of movement that NIKE has always advocated “in any case, the ultimate fairness and justice will be stretched.”

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Image source: Medium

With clear identification, how do you create a brand value proposition? In short, it can be divided into three steps:

1. Identify points of interest (relevance): List all points of interest that your product can provide to consumers.

2. Linking benefits with value (quantified value): identify what value your product can bring to consumers.

3. Differentiate and position yourself (USP): Find out who your target group is, what you can offer them, and what makes you different.

So, what qualities do a good value proposition need?

1. Clear and easyUnderstand, understand at least 7 seconds.

2. Specific results need to be passed on to consumers.

3. Explain how you are different and better than your competitors.

Creating a brand’s value proposition is not clear in just a few words. Here, the author also briefly presented the outline of what this most important link in brand management should look like. When a brand has a clear value proposition, it has a soul in both cross-border marketing and any marketing behavior. It can also identify which marketing methods can convey the brand’s own values, so that consumers Fall in love with your brand lastingly, not briefly, without even having any memory. Brand value proposition is not just a spiritual thing, nor is it nihilistic. Instead, it needs to be continuously, persistently and consistently exported in order to truly allow the brand to build a relationship with your consumers, not just generate purchases. This is the brand’s way, this is the brand.